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Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana says it is positioning Ghana’s virtual assets ecosystem to unlock a new era of wealth creation that could produce the country’s first generation of self-made millionaires and billionaires under the age of 40.
The Commission believes the emerging digital asset economy will become a major catalyst for entrepreneurship and innovation, particularly among young people building technology-driven businesses across the financial services sector.
Speaking at a virtual assets forum held on the sidelines of the 3i Africa Summit 2026, Acting Deputy Director-General of the SEC, Mensah Thompson, said Ghana is creating a regulatory framework designed to support innovation while maintaining market stability and investor protection.
The forum, themed “Ghana’s Approach to Virtual Assets: Enabling Innovation While Safeguarding Stability,” focused on the opportunities and regulatory implications of digital assets in Africa’s evolving financial landscape.
Virtual assets include cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralised finance (DeFi) tokens, and tokenised securities, which are increasingly being used globally for payments, investments, and digital asset ownership.
“Virtual assets are going to create a new generation of global billionaires from Africa and Ghana, billionaires who created their own wealth. For the first time, we are going to see millionaires and billionaires under 40 in this country,” Thompson said.
He linked the optimism to rising global adoption of digital assets, noting that more than 560 million people worldwide currently hold virtual assets. He added that tokenised markets spanning equities, bonds, and real estate are projected to grow into a multi-trillion-dollar industry by 2030.
According to Thompson, the rise of blockchain technology and digital finance is reshaping traditional models of wealth creation, creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs to build scalable businesses beyond inherited wealth or conventional trading activities.
He said Ghana’s evolving macroeconomic and regulatory environment offers strong potential for local innovators to develop globally competitive companies in digital finance and blockchain infrastructure.
“These are not companies in construction or trading. The next generation of employers will be technological builders, digital innovators, and entrepreneurs,” he stated.
To support this transition, the SEC disclosed that it has established a dedicated Virtual Assets Committee and is working alongside Bank of Ghana to implement the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154).
The Commission also revealed that its regulatory sandbox programme is already operational, with 17 firms currently participating — including 11 supervised by the SEC and six under the Central Bank — allowing companies to test crypto-related products within a controlled regulatory environment before obtaining full licences.
According to Thompson, the sandbox framework is intended to help regulators gather real-time market insights and develop policies suited to Ghana’s unique digital finance ecosystem rather than replicating foreign regulatory models.
“The sandbox is designed to collect real-time data so that regulations reflect how the technology is used in Ghana. The approach is pro-protection, balancing market integrity with growth,” he said.
He encouraged local innovators to focus on building transformative solutions across digital investment platforms, blockchain infrastructure, and virtual asset services capable of driving new industries and economic opportunities.
“The assignment for you is to create the future. Don’t just study problems — solve problems so big that industries form around them,” Thompson added.
Despite its pro-innovation stance, the SEC maintained that investor protection remains central to its approach, stressing the importance of anti-money laundering compliance, cybersecurity safeguards, and secure digital asset custody frameworks as the market develops.
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